North Pole, AK, and other opportunities for Christmas in July

North Pole, AK, is committed to living up to its novelty name. The town is decorated year round with twinkly lights, and the utility poles are wrapped like candy canes, though I was reprimanded for saying they look more like barber poles. The post office does a brisk business trafficking letters to and from Santa, we hear.

The town’s Santa Claus House is mostly a silly Christmas-themed gift shop. But St. Nick was on duty when we stopped by, and he admirably pretended to remember meeting Hazel back in December at the Galleria.